Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Men's Basketball Practice Report, Jan. 9
1/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 9/8 (AP/Coaches) Indiana men's basketball team held an open practice on Monday, Jan. 9, in preparation for its first Big Ten road game of the year at No. 14/15 Michigan State on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN and can also be heard on the IU Radio Network. Below are quotes following practice.
Senior guard Marshall Strickland
On D.J. White being out:
MS: "It is really tough, especially on him. I know how hard he works and how much he loves the game. D.J. is strong person. He will work to get through it and back on the court."
On how much of a difference does it make considering the team has played so much of a four-guard offense this season:
MS: "It is going to make a difference. D.J. gave us an element that we really needed at the beginning of the year. He gave Marco time to rest and he is another scorer inside. We lose a lot of the little things he did on the court. "
On Ben Allen filling in and getting more minutes:
MS: "Ben can really play. Since I heard the news, I have really been on Ben. I have been trying to get him ready to play mentally. I think he can get us some great things on the offensive and defensive ends with his size and shooting ability."
Junior guard Roderick Wilmont
On going to Michigan State and needing Ben Allen to step up:
RW: "Michigan State feeds off the atmosphere. It is going to be a real intense game. I called Ben last night and told him that he needed to be ready to play. Just knowing from experience going up there and knowing how physical the play is. I told him not to look for any fouls because you are not going to get them. I just told him to play through it and keep playing hard."
On Michigan State being 0-2 in the conference:
RW: "It doesn't really matter. They are going to come out pretty strong playing without a win. This is our chance to go in there and do something special. It would be big for us to go in there and get a win."
Freshman center Ben Allen
On having to step up him game:
BA: "Rod and Marshall gave me calls. From an upperclassman point of view, they told me what to expect with D.J. out. I am going to have to play a lot bigger role in the Big Ten, and the Big Ten is a lot different from the preseason games we have played. It really gave me some confidence. They told me that I was being presented with a big challenge and just to make the best of it."
On going up to play at Michigan State:
BA: "I heard it was going to be a dogfight. They have lost two away games, and they are going to fight hard to get a win at home against us. We are the same. It is our first road trip in the Big Ten, and we are going to try and get a win up there."
Trainer/Director of Basketball Operations Tim Garl
On the injury to D.J. White:
TG: "We are still looking at it. We have termed it as a significant injury to the foot. It is a different injury to a different part of the foot than he had originally. Originally, the injury was a stress fracture that happened over time. This is an injury that happened from a specific episode as we described. It was stepped on when he fell down. He had pain at the time. He really didn't say anything until after the game it was really sore. Further clinical tests revealed some damage to a different part of the left foot."
On the prognosis:
TG: "Right now the prognosis is really unknown. It depends on how fast he heals, but I would say he is out a minimum of four to six weeks and quite possibly longer. It becomes an issue of not only healing this injury but then also of conditioning. We were just making progress on his conditioning. When the first injury occurred he was in very good shape. He lost a lot of that conditioning when he was out. We have made preliminary investigation, and we are still waiting to talk to some other people and get some other opinions. Our doctors in Indianapolis haven't had a chance to view the clinical studies. Dr. Rink, our team physician, although we have been in constant contact with him, he is in Thailand right now with a U.S. event. We are trying to figure out a plan right now. He is out indefinitely. I know indefinite is a board term, but we don't know how long at this point."
On the possibility of a redshirt:
TG: "I think that is part of the decision making process. I think that this happened so quickly that we are reviewing all the options. Of course, it is not my option. It is D.J., his parents and coaching staff's option. He does qualify for a medical hardship, although a medical hardship is not automatic, they must be reviewed by the (Big Ten and NCAA), if he is not able to play this year. It isn't just a matter of holding him out, we have to document that he is not able to play for this redshirt to be issued by the conference.
Indiana head coach Mike Davis
On being without D.J. White:
MD: "I think Ben and Kline have to step up and play. We just have to keep playing our system. We are definitely going to miss him a lot. Before we knew he was coming back, now we don't know how long it is going to take. We won five games with him even though he isn't the D.J. we know. I think he averaged nine points and six rebounds. We just have to focus on Michigan State. It is going to be a tough game for us, whether D.J. was playing with us or not. We have make sure that we get Ben and Kline ready to play."
On the possibly of D.J. attempting to get a medical redshirt:
MD: "We will talk about. I will sit down with him and his parents and talk about it. It will not be my decision, it will be a family decision whether he redshirts or not. He definitely wants to come back. This is a good team."
On Michigan State:
MD: "They are a good basketball team. You can't look at their Big Ten record because anyone can go on the road a lose two straight, especially at Illinois and at Wisconsin. They are going to come out and push the ball up the court. Coach (Tom) Izzo is a great coach and he is going to have his guys ready to play. It is a game that we have to compete in. I remember a couple of years ago we went up in the same situation. We had some guys kind of look over that game and just take for granted that we would lose. We didn't really go out and play. We have to go in there and try to win. This can't be a game where we go in saying if we lose it isn't a big deal because it is a big deal."
